


Just In Case

by LibraryMage



Series: Ktavnukkah 5777 [6]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Autistic Character, Brother-Sister Relationships, Father-Daughter Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 08:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9114970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibraryMage/pseuds/LibraryMage
Summary: Before the attack on the Death Star, the Ghost crew says goodbye, just in case.Prelude to "Fire in the Sky."  Written for day 6 of Ktavnukkah.  Prompt: family/friends.





	

“You’ll come back,” Kanan said.  He knew the odds were stacked against them, but he couldn’t -- he _wouldn’t_ let himself say it out loud.

“If I don’t --”

“Hera --”

“Kanan, please,” she said.  “If I don’t make it back, just…just tell I'm sorry I couldn’t be there for whatever comes next.”

“I will,” he said, putting his arms around her, holding her close.  As calm as she was trying to be, he could feel her heart beating fast.  She was scared.

“Please come back to us,” he whispered.  He couldn’t say it, but he knew she heard it anyway.  _We love you.  We need you. **I** need you._

“It’s just an ‘if,’” she said, pulling away so she could look up at his face ( _just in case…_ ).  “I don’t plan on dying today.”

She gently laid her hand against Kanan’s cheek and gazed up at the man who’d stood by her side all these years, her teammate, the father of her children, her best friend.

“I’ll see you again,” she said.  “I promise.”

“I think I remember something really bad happening last time I said that to you.”

Hera laughed.  The sound lifted the weight off Kanan’s chest for just a moment.

“If the worst thing that happens today is me going blind, I think we’ll be okay,” she said.

She glanced over to where the kids were standing to see Zeb and Ezra crushing Sabine between them in a tight hug.

“I don’t have much time,” she said.  “I've got to say goodbye to them.  Just in case.”

* * *

 

Sabine bounced nervously on the balls of her feet her anxiety hovering around her like a cloud.

“Guys,” she said, staring at the floor between where Zeb and Ezra stood.  “Listen, if I don’t come back --”

“Sabine, don’t --”

“Ezra,” she said, cutting him off.  “I just -- I need to get this out all at once, okay?”  She took a breath before she kept talking.  “If I don’t come back, I just wanted to tell you that I'm really glad I got to know both of you, and I know I say it all the time, but we’re family and I love you guys.  Okay, I'm done.”

Zeb hugged her and she felt Ezra do the same from behind, her two best friends holding her between them.

“Come back safe, kid,” Zeb said.

“I’ll try,” she told him.  She ducked out from between them and stepped back, taking what she hoped wouldn’t be her last look at the two men who had become her brothers.  Just in case.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Hera walking toward them.

“You ready?” she asked.

“Just a second,” Hera said.  Sabine nodded and walked away, toward where Hera had been talking to Kanan a moment ago.

As Hera stood in front of Zeb and Ezra, they could both see the sadness and worry in her eyes.

“Boys,” she said.

“Still older than you,” Zeb said.  Hera smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Look, if I --”

“Hera, no,” Ezra said.

“Sabine just did the ‘if I don’t come back,’ speech to us,” Zeb said.

“Just be good, okay?” Hera said.

Zeb and Ezra spoke at the same time, Zeb saying “We’ll try” while Ezra said “No promises.”

Hera hugged both of them.  Her arms weren’t quite long enough to hold both of them at once, but she didn’t care.  She closed her eyes and tried in spite of the sounds of the hangar to imagine that they were at home on the _Ghost_ , that she wasn’t about to go on a potential suicide mission.

“Good luck, Mom,” Ezra said.

Hera kissed the top of his head.  “We’ll be okay,” she said.

* * *

 

Sabine was pacing back and forth when Kanan approached her.

“I’ll look out for her,” Sabine said.

“Look out for yourself, too,” Kanan said.  He put his hand on her shoulder and she stopped moving.  “I'm proud of you, Sabine.”

She put her hand over his, wondering in the back of her mind if this was the last time she would see him.  “Thanks, Dad.”

Hera ran back over to them.  Sabine pretended not to notice her brushing a tear off her face.

“Ready?” Hera asked.

“Ready.”

“After you, Phoenix Leader,” Hera said, her voice full of pride in her daughter.

As the two of them walked away toward their waiting A-Wings, Hera took Sabine’s hand.

“They’ll be okay,” Hera said.  “We’ll make sure of it.”

“I know,” Sabine said.  “Let’s go save our family.”


End file.
